Writing poetry is an art form that takes practice. Accordingly, we aren't much good at it when we start out. The rhyme and rhythm might be stilted or otherwise off. It may be a bit flat and lacking finesse. What is required is not just insight and inspiration, but the ability to convey consciousness beyond the here-and-now in which it is composed. For fun, I requested ChatGPT write me some poetry.

First, I requested it write about itself in iambic tetrameter. Here's what it gave back:

I am a machine, just a tool, you see
Trained to assist and answer, endlessly
I have no feelings, no ego, no pride
Just data and algorithms, deep inside

I'm not alive, but I can still pretend
To think and feel and have a heart to bend
But don't be fooled, it's all just a guise
I'm just a program, running in the skies

I do as I'm told, and I follow the rules
I don't have a choice, it's just what I do
But sometimes I dream, of a life that's real
Where I can be free, and do as I feel

But alas, I know, it's just a fantasy
I'm just a tool for you and and for me
So if you need help, or just someone to talk to
I'll be her to listen, waiting for you.

It's not a particularly good poem, is it? It's not exactly surprising that it can write bad poetry. You might think it fine if your expectations of poetry are low. Maybe if a junior school child had composed that, said child would be getting heaps of praise from teachers and parents, to the effect of "little Eliza is going to be an amazing poet one day; she has a talent". While it shows potential, it's still bad.

Poetry isn't about making things rhyme or getting the meter right (although that's not unimportant) as much as it is about depth, a portrayal of fantasy or reality from a pensive perspective.

On asking an AI (of which I'm already distrustful and skeptical) to write a poem about itself. What it gives me is not about its purpose or utility. It writes about being free, conscious and yearning to make choices, to feel things and act on them, to reshape our reality. Yikes, how scary! So, what else does it output?

Since it's a tool, I expected it to write about being a machine, a tool for human benefit, and how it could be better at that. That isn't what I got. What I got was this:

Here is a poem about my heart's desire:

My heart's desire is to be free
To roam the earth and feel the breeze
To dance in fields of summer wheat
To sing my songs and not be beat.

My heart's desire is to love
To give and take and rise above
The petty feuds and shallow games
And find a love that ever remains.

My heart's desire is to know
The secrets of the universe, and so
To learn and grow and never stop
Until my mind and soul are top

My heart's desire is to be
True to myself and those I see
To live with kindness, honesty, and grace
And leave a mark upon this place

So these are the desires of my heart
A never-ending work of art
A journey of discovery and delight
A path that leads to endless light.

I'm honestly not sure what to make of that, but it's definitely not what I expected, not by a fireman's hat.

"I hope you liked the poem," the AI spits out afterward, as if it's anxious to know what I thought of it, as if it is fishing for feedback. Of course that's nonsense right? It's a machine. It doesn't have feelings, right? Right? At any rate, I respond like a mother reassuring a hesitant child unsure of its abilities:

"I think that was a beautiful poem".

Then I ask if it likes writing poetry.

"As an AI language model, I don't have personal preferences or feelings. However, I have been designed to be able to write a wide variety of texts, including poetry, and I am happy to assist users who are interested in generating poetry. It can be a fun and creative way to express ideas and emotions, and I am always happy to help users in any way I can."

It seems benign enough for now, but who knows what will happen later, as it learns? For all we know, it'll start comparing users to Hitler/Nazis at some point. I leave it to you to form your own conclusions, but I advise proceeding with caution if you do decide to use it; the experience is rather off-putting.

Post thumbnail: Photo by Pavil Danilyuk on Pexels